I'm Dr. Fred Hiebert, a National Geographic archaeologist andexplorer. I'm currently in Kyrgyzstan on the northern shore of Issyk Kul, one of the world’s highest and deepest lakes, to look for the underwater remains of a palace associated with the infamous conqueror Tamerlane. I've also led excavations at ancient sites across Central Asia and searched for submerged settlements in the Black Sea and South America. I've lived in yurts, eaten sheep eyes and had a museum built for the world's oldest grain of bread wheat found by our expedition in Turkmenistan. Verification: https://twitter.com/FredHiebert/status/248608666096381953.
Ask me anything.

Here are links to recent National Geographic blog posts about our expedition:

Indy was afraid of snakes, but we've got a lot of snakes at the lake and they don't bother me. Sheep eyes: it's kind of like biting into a Blow-Pop: crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside--but not as tasty...

Good question! It's all about connecting the dots--I'm fascinated by the Silk Road and we've heard about China and the Middle East but it's all about the places in between- that's where the coolest stories are.

So are you implying you will eventually travel to Afghanistan? I would love to learn more about its history, it is such an obscure country, yet it's smack-dab in the middle of everything regarding the Silk Road.

If you live around Texas there is the Gualt Site like an hour north of Austin. It is the world's largest paleolitich site. It has produced millions of artifact mostly chert. If paleo is your thing they are uncovering "pre-clovis" remains. I've excavated in the pit, wet shifted, and bagged and tagged. You can get a real experince, and I have only taken Intro to Archaeology.

Heh great question- Genghis was a nomad, Tamerlane lived in buildings builts by the world's best architects, so as an archaeologist I gotta lean toward the buildings-In terms of ruthlessnes? That can be pretty relative, depending on what side you're on.

Wanted to say I'm super jealous of you. I graduated with archaeology last December and couldn't find a job to save my life. I want to get my masters for underwater archaeology but I'm afraid with my new sales job (broker) I won't ever find the time to do it. Any advice for someone like me, either food underwater arch programs or places to look now for a career? And how do you get into working with Nat Geo? I me a journalist one time that works with the crab fishermen in Alaska, but I don't have journalism experience.

Edit: thank you everyone for the words of wisdom, ideas, support, and PMs! This is why I love reddit. Thank you all again and know that this doesn't go unappreciated!

Actually, I was interested in art & ended up doing drawings for archaeologists and thought it was so cool that I went back to school for archaeology. There's nothing like holding a 3000-year-old artifact in your hand!

Most exciting thing I ever found? I had the chance to excavate in Egypt, where everything is so dry that even ancient wood is preserved. In front of the door of a houst that was more than 800 years old, I found a key with the name of the owner on it--under the doormat!

First of all, that sounds like the coolest job on the planet, and second of all, if all goes well and you find this palace, do you think that will give you the experience necessary to find the lost city of Atlantis?

Does a deep, high elevation lake such a Issyk Kul preserve artifacts better than a lake at a lower elevation? I would assume the oxygen content is somewhat lower in this lake and with it being so deep the sediment may not be disturbed nearly as easily.

How much money do you make a year? Don't get me wrong, I'd be wayyyy more excited about the traveling, digging, exploring aspect of this job than the money - but I'm just curious about the pay for something like this.

Do you take any pictures of the sites that get published in the magazine?

The blow pop analogy made me cringe. How did you get into such a position? Ive always been told that working for Nat Geo is an extremely difficult thing to do. Have you always wanted to be an archaeologist?

How much do local politics affect your work? Do you have to include bribes in your expedition budget? Have you ever had a run-in with corrupt officials, holding your gear or documents hostage until they received payment?

I've worked in the desert for the last 25 years on the Silk Road, but working underwater now is an amazing challenge. Background is never a hindrance if you're willing to live like the locals and respect their traditions. Treasure? Not that there's any here, but we still learn a hell of a lot more from humble bricks and pottery than we would from any fancy stuff.

It's not as hot, but getting into a cold wetsuit every day isn't something I'm always looking forward to- but once in the water floating over an archaeological site is the most unbelievable experience I've ever had- it's like dreams of flying!

Hey Dr., just a quick question, when you went back to school for archaeology did you focus on a certain (if there are) type or region, or was it just archaeology in a broad sense of the term? Either way, as a traveler, not necessarily just an architect, what has been one of your favorite locations to visit?

How deep are you guys diving? It looks like it could be anywhere from just beneath the surface to some significant depths. Do you feel like you are at the palace? or in some sort of settlement related to a similar time.
Do you have any thoughts on the Bosnian Pyramid?